STMicroelectronics expects to generate more than $3 billion in revenue from its space-related business over the next three years, driven by growing demand in low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite programs and continued collaboration with SpaceX.
Speaking during a virtual presentation, Remi El-Ouazzane, president of Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF Products at STMicroelectronics, said the company’s LEO-related revenue has increased sharply, rising 243% from $175 million in 2021 to $600 million in 2025.
STMicroelectronics supplies custom-designed chips for SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, supporting satellites, user terminals, and ground infrastructure. The company said its BiCMOS technology plays a key role in Starlink user terminals, enabling high-performance connectivity at scale.
“The collaboration has produced billions of co-design products used in millions of Starlink user terminals and over 10,000 Starlink satellites. ST products have been critical in helping SpaceX scale production through co-designing key chips, engineering services and high-volume manufacturing,” El-Ouazzane said on May 4. “The collaboration continues with a focus on ramping up ongoing designs and architecting together the next generation of satellites and user terminals.”
Beyond Starlink, STMicroelectronics has contributed semiconductor technologies to major space programmes, including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS, and the Ariane 6.
The company reported total revenue of $11.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, with space representing a growing but still relatively small segment of its overall business. El-Ouazzane said STMicroelectronics aims to generate “well above” $3 billion in cumulative space revenue between 2026 and 2028, covering both traditional space programmes and LEO applications such as broadband and direct-to-device services.
STMicroelectronics estimates it holds more than a 90% share of the LEO semiconductor market in 2025, though El-Ouazzane noted that the sector remains at an early stage of development. “We are just in the early innings of this market,” he said.
Looking ahead, the company is also exploring opportunities in China’s emerging satellite ecosystem, particularly in user terminals. However, as a European supplier, it is restricted from providing certain technologies for satellites due to export controls.
“It’s a market for us that we are looking into, even though we are in the very, very early innings, because their satellite footprint remains quite small,” El-Ouazzane added.
